With one in 20 British men now wearing make-up (YouGov), retailers are finally understanding that colour cosmetics for men is not an embarrassing secret.
John Lewis beat predictions made by L'Oréal UK Managing Director, Vismay Sharma, that male cosmetics counters could hit department stores in five years, by launching a permanent male make-up counter at its Oxford Street flagship.
One brand keen to help men rethink their grooming regime is Shakeup Cosmetics.
Founded by twins Jake Xu and Shane Xin Carnell-Xu, their BB Tinted Moisturiser, Under Eye Concealer and Moisturising & Volumising Lip Gel can be found in Harvey Nichols. Meanwhile, the pair have landed an investment deal with the entrepreneurs behind the fastest growing UK kids food brand Kiddylicious.
Here, brand the brothers explain to Cosmetics Business how they plan to win over the modern man.
"Masculinity is being redefined right in front of our eyes. We created Shakeup for the modern man, who embraces self care and challenges gender stereotypes.
In terms of the positioning of the brand, we set our goal from the outset to put men’s beauty on the mainstream agenda, so we’ve deliberately targeted and secured listings with high profile retailers such as Harvey Nichols, featured in well-known publications such as GQ, The Times and Harper’s Bazaar, and actively raised awareness of the benefits of using cosmetics to boost self-esteem and improve mental wellness amongst men, both via social media and through charity organisations and industry bodies.
This year, we are expanding our retailer network and will hopefully bring our products to the high street very soon – making men’s cosmetics more accessible than ever before. We also aim to stand out through our eye-catching, classy and gender-neutral packaging, so we don’t drown in the sea of black, white, silver and blue in the men’s aisle.
In terms of communications, we firmly believe that 'designed for men' is a necessary step towards more inclusivity in beauty. There is still a real need to cater to men, in order to get them to be part of the beauty conversation. But for us, 'designed for men' is definitely not just marketing talk.
We know that men’s skin is physiologically and structurally different from women’s, plus most male cosmetic users are looking for a more natural and less detectable finish, so subtly is key. With a 'skin care first' mindset, our multi-purpose range aims to deliver both proven skincare benefits and colour-corrective features.
Therefore, we absolutely had to consider the unique characteristics of men's skin type and their preferences during our formulation process.
Image: via Instagram/@menweareshakeup
For example, we had to make sure that our Let’s Face It BB tinted moisturiser has undetectable sheer coverage while still effectively covers redness which many men suffer from, to create an even skin tone; our Eye Eye Captain under eye concealer had to be able to both instantly cover dark circles and reduce puffiness at the same time; and our Lip Life to the Full lip gel needed to deliver a matte finish besides its deep moisturising properties, because most men don’t like shiny lip balms.
On top of that, all our products have SPF, as we know a lot of men neglect sun protection when it comes to skincare. We also put all our products through a rigorous user trial by a 75-strong male-only testing group.
For many retailers, the concern still lies with how we are able to educate our target consumers as men's cosmetics is still so new. We managed to put their minds at ease by supporting them with engaging and informative POS, as well as our effective social media strategy, helping consumers understand our product features and benefits quickly and easily."
